'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Anatoly Malykhin has no qualms about goading ONE Heavyweight world champion Arjan Bhullar.
The Russian has frequently referred to 'Singh' as a "chicken" in recent months, with both men trading barbs ahead of their highly-anticipated world title unification bout that's rumored to be confirmed sometime soon.
Malykhin won the ONE Interim Heavyweight World Title with a signature knockout victory against Kirill Grishenko in the second round at ONE: 'Bad Blood' in February.
Bhullar has not fought since winning the world title from Brandon Vera in April 2021. The Canadian-Indian's lack of competition has drawn criticism from Anatoly and the 34-year-old is delighted to finally be going toe-to-toe with the former Olympian.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the Tiger Muay Thai athlete said:
"Of course I'm very happy about this fight. Finally, this chicken is getting out from his chicken coop. I'm waiting for this chance to smash his face and win this fight."
The 6-foot star has good reason to feel confident. He's outclassed every opponent he's ever fought and has racked up a remarkable run of eleven straight victories with all of those bouts ending with a stoppage.
Anatoly Malykhin insists he's not underestimating Arjan Bhullar
Bhullar has only been beaten once in his twelve professional fights, but the Kemerovo-native is confident that the champ will fall easily, even though he insists that he's not taking him lightly:
"I don't underestimate him," said Malykhin. "I'm pretty sure he's preparing for this fight [and] he has recovered from the fight with Brandon Vera. He's also the Olympic type of wrestler so I'm fully prepared. But I don't believe that it will be a hard fight for me. I'm pretty sure that I will win easily."
The future seems to hold a massive couple of months for the division as a whole. The unification bout is set to be one of the most important clashes in the organization's history at heavyweight.
Meanwhile, fans are gearing up to see the undefeated Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida take on Grishenko at ONE 161, and that same card will also feature former ONE world title challenger Mauro Cerilli taking on veteran Amir Aliakbari.
Watch the full interview below:
